Audax rides

Kernow and Southwest 600km this weekend, I can feel myself hallucinating already.
Is anybody else riding?

I'm still on for giving it a bash.

You took the stuff a bit too early, if you ask me.

http://thesquarepusher.blogspot.co.uk/

this blog appears to belong to the chap with the fixed Rourke audax bike. Really interesting stuff.

Thats actually mine, though Justin (Rourke rider) was the subject of most of the photos I took. I never worked out how to photograph myself whilst cycling... The blog is quite dated now though.

The blog is quite dated now though.

still quite enjoyed seeing some of the scenes from your BCM played out in glorious sunshine.

good luck this weekend. hope the wind is good to you.
Looks like a real hard man's 600.

I love that BCM report, though the fake vignetting really bothered me.

fake vignetting?

In the picture, every single one of them have a massive fake vignetting in it.

That's not fake Ed, it's excactly what I saw...

No, its just filter on my camera phone, which looks beter than having no filter, which just looked boring. Personal preferences of a limited range of photographic equipment at my disposal on the actual rides.

I'll be sure to take my daguerreotype with me this weekend.

saucy.

I have enjoyed reading that blog!

I met Tim on my first Audax in April I was doing it on my own and he ended riding most of it with me, he was telling me about some of those events and inspired me to step up my cycling, take it a bit more seriously and set myself some goals.

so how was the Kernow and Southwest 600km?

Kernow & Southwest was excellent, we are just sat in the Weatherspoons in Exeter having a 'recovery' drink. Good weather, good scenery, inevitably difficult in places (between the 101 and 600km mark) but an excellent weekends riding! I'll post pictures / update blog this week!

Anybody thinking of Sunday's brevets from Ware in Hertfordshire? Thinking of 200 but might just go 160.

Kernow & Southwest was excellent, we are just sat in the Weatherspoons in Exeter having a 'recovery' drink.

Top work boys!

Anybody thinking of Sunday's brevets from Ware in Hertfordshire? Thinking of 200 but might just go 160.

Don't think you can go past the Devil for sunday. There are very few Audaxes that you can actually ride to from central london.

I'm in for the up the Downs on Sat also if anyone wants a tow around/some banter.

so how was the Kernow and Southwest 600km?

It was great, a pleasant route in good weather. Two of the seven segments were noticeably trickier (one of which was the last, inevitably), but a lot of the climbing was nibbled away in the general roll around the South West so it's hard to pick out any significant hills.

I very much enjoyed coming to the end of the first day, arriving to a group of broken faces wearily scoffing blackberry crumble and custard or rice pudding. Such an image is standard fare to the seasoned audaxer, I'm sure, but it was novel to me and very memorable.

So many people that I met along the way were talking about the Pendle 600 that it's difficult not to want to try it. The actual event I can't do, but I'm tempted to find a spot for it before the end of the year.

holy crap. that Pendle 600 looks nasty.

It includes a jaunt up this:

The Pendle looks like a real ball breaker, I'll likely put smaller chainrings and larger cassette on my bike prior to riding, and maybe a bit of hill work in between now and then might help. Justin rode last year basically said there was no time for any sleep aside from 15mins face down in a ditch, so that'll be a laugh...

The list of climbs are long, and a lot (if not all) of them are in that book '100 greatest cycling climbs' - Rosedale Chimney, Hardknott Pass and Wynrose Pass are all rated 10/10.

I trust you will be riding Zanda?

Anyone else tempted?

Thinking about it.

Thinking about it....

Not sure why I can't pass the Ditchling Devil? I'd rather not ride through suburbs, I like the rural starts of the brevets I've done. Ware has three distances for me to choose from too.

btw you 600km riders are mental.

Starting from WImbledon isn't that bad, in fact you pass the suburbs fairly quickly, and the route into Kingston were also pretty good for the "into London" ride.

Naah, you miss my point. Wimbledon is not a rural start no matter what you imagine.

Anyway, Ditchling Devil presumably includes Ditchling Beacon, a hill I will never climb on 68".

Oh I know, but for an out of London ride, it's fairly good compare to says, through Epping, or Deptford.

Best straight to rural ride for me was Stevenage, a big town that immediately take me to the countryside already.